Of Bus Rides and Birthdays
by foxtrotelly
Summary: How a bus full of sugar-buzzed kids was Narumi's second-best and worst idea yet.


This is for the sake of reminiscing back on one of the highlights of my childhood, namely the "_bestest bus ride of my life, like, evar"_. Yeah that and I promised this long, long ago for a friend just because the plot was definitely timely for her birthday. It's like the coolest day to have for a birthday if you're a GA fan after all (November 27).

_This is really random. This doesn't make sense. You should just go to your fridge and make yourself a sandwich. My cautionary messages will always be relevant from now on. You have been warned. Ok._

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice copyright © Tachibana Higuchi, 2003-Present

* * *

**

**Of Bus Rides and Birthdays**

_**By foxtrotelly**_

_~ For Happy-Go-Round's and Hyuuga Natsume's birthday (just really super late I cannot even) ~_

_Well lookie here and see what a lucky girl Happy-Go-Round is for being born on the same day as our dear beloved Natsu. But anywho, this is for you, HGR, because I hope you haven't forgotten me yet and I like to stick to my word, always._

_**:)**_

There's always that time of the year.

When you get mobbed by a horde of hormonal girls out for blood first thing in the morning — just because they'd think you'd let them off since it was _that _day after all. When you get your locker flooded with at least a hundred stupid pink notes that all say the same thing and you couldn't even retrieve your Biology book without getting at least six papercuts on your pinky finger. When what everybody else tells you the entire day only reminds you that that is the day when your mother officially chucked you out of her —

You get the idea. And forget all that bull about you being another year older and wiser on that day. The idea of growing older, I can bear, but as far as I know, anyone I knew who was older than me didn't seem any smarter.

And that was just it for my birthday.

* * *

The alarm always went off at 5 am for Misaki-sensei. Within a minute, he'd snooze it. For about five minutes or so, he'd lie around in bed some more, cuddling his pillow (or stuffed peapod) as he savored every last minute of warmth and solace and comfort of his little "nest" before facing yet another day. The sleepiness would wear off at 5:07, and by 5:09 he would have already managed to drag himself out of bed.

Shuffling on his slippers, he would stumble to the kitchen to turn on his coffee maker at 5:11. Blindly, he begins to prepare a bowl of ramen or three slices of toast, half-asleep as he waits. His coffee would finish brewing at 5:26, and the sound would always wake him up fully. At 5:27 he'd be at the door with his steaming cup to retrieve the morning paper.

But it was to his surprise when on that one particular day, he found something else lying on his doormat besides the newspaper. On top of the paper there was an envelope addressed to him.

Cautious, he turned it over in his hands. He tried to look for stamps or any of the sort that indicated it was outside mail. Then again teachers didn't really receive much letters as the next no-star and there was nobody around to mail him anyway. So he opened it anyway.

…And found a _very_ incriminating photo of him. It was him in — he didn't even want to say it. In fact, it was so incriminating that now he refused to even acknowledge it.

So he flipped _it_ over and found a note saying:

_Misaki-sensei, this is a picture of you that is about to be posted on the Gakuen Times in four days. Thank you for the face. And the body. And the picture. _

_XOXOXOXOXO, Girls of the newspaper club_

—

He was going to lose his job.

Well, unless maybe if the Middle School Principal actually had a secret fetish for men and —

"Shut up, Misaki."

"I'm sorry what?" A redhead stopped before him, her eyebrows furrowed. He immediately recognized her as one of his old students, Harada Misaki.

"Oh, I'm sorry Harada," he muttered. "Carry on."

"So who're you talking to this time, sir?"

_Well, nevermind the snark_, he thought as he pushed past her and her group of friends.

As he reached the door to the newspaper clubroom, he took a deep breath. Counting to five, he then pushed open the doors and stormed inside.

"_What is the meaning of this?" _

To his surprise he was greeted by the _boys_ of the newspaper club.

The whole room erupted with mad guffaws.

"A mighty fine picture of you, _sensei_, if I do say so myself!"

"A one way ticket to debauchery land?"

"'_I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy!'_"

And as much as he would have loved to tell them to go expel and shoot themselves he couldn't with all the words that got stuck in his throat.

It wasn't until the laughter died down a bit and this one guy — smart enough, thank God — said, "The girls are in the printing room, _sensei_," between his own stifled snickers that Misaki finally had the strength to move his feet.

However, all he could manage out was, "I, _uh,_ th-thanks."

"Don't mention it, sir!" the guys all sang.

Then the room erupted with laughter again.

—

He didn't plan for a dramatic entrance this time around, given his not-so climactic exit just awhile ago at the "boys' part" of the club space. But nonetheless, he was greeted with singing again as he entered.

"_Ohayo Misaki-sensei!"_

Misaki put on his best stoic/stern/stealthy face. He cleared his throat. "Girls."

"Oh don't you just love that picture of you we had meticulously picked out of hundreds for our club's special anniversary headliner picture, _sensei_?" one of the girls sitting nearest from where he was standing asked, batting her long, mascara-ed eyelashes at him.

"I – _out of a hundred?_" he screeched.

"How many'd you expect, Misaki-sensei, _just a dozen_? You gotta be better than that," a girl passing by carrying a huge pile of papers in her arms replied, giggling.

"_Of myself?_"

"Not to mention more aware of his surroundings," one girl muttered under her breath.

"You truly are a blessed one, Misaki-sensei," a girl standing beside him remarked, her voice dreamy yet sincere-sounding at the same time. "It's not all the time that we are bestowed with the presence of a handsome, green thumb-ed angel in this school full of dinosaurs and dou — " She cut herself off, her hands flying to her mouth. "Sorry _sensei_ I know I wasn't supposed to say the D word."

"Dinosaurs?" He didn't think that saying that word was the least of their problems. Given, he'd flunk them all in Biology if he could.

But when he was about to continue with his stand, a loud popping sound interrupted him. "You do know we girls of the newspaper club are civil enough to offer negotiations, right Misaki-sensei?"

Turning around, Misaki found their editor-in-chief, Sakai Kana, standing behind him, leaning on the doorframe.

"Now, now sir, no need for such cruel thoughts here right?" She sighed, examining her nails. "And shame since none of the girls in this room have ever gotten anything lower than an A minus in their entire lives." She looked up, her eyes, reproving yet innocent, set on him.

Well it was that or fail the girls and still end up being the laughingstock of the entire school in four days time.

"Yes you could always opt to be the laughingstock, _sensei._" She crossed her arms. "Just when you thought you'd left behind all those…" she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "_shameful, shameful_ Academy childhood days in that shirt you left at Narumi-sensei's dorm."

He sometimes forgot how cunning mindreaders really were at this school.

He exhaled sharply, trying to not take notice of how his face was burning up. "What do you want, Sakai-san?"

Sakai Kana smiled a coy smile. She shrugged, "Just want you to keep track of some birthdays coming up."

"And?"

"Take some pictures."

* * *

The sky looked really blue today. Narumi noted this just as he ambled on in the hallway early in the morning to the faculty room. Immediately he felt that this day was going to be great, and he loved the fact.

"Misaki-sensei." Narumi stopped at the sight of his co-worker. He usually ignored him grumpily in the morning, but he wasn't really sure now that he was leaning casually against his desk, a box in his hands.

"Good morning, Naru," Misaki nodded, sounding polite.

"Uh — _Ohayo_ to you too, Misaki-sensei!" Narumi greeted him as cheerfully as he can. Skipping over go him, he slid an arm over Misaki's shoulder and beamed at him. "So what can I help you this morning with, Misaki?"

He only felt the slightest bit of a flinch but nonetheless he was still glad that Misaki didn't pull away this time.

"Well you see, I have this scarf here."

Narumi's vision filled with purple. Yes, _purple_. He knew he got like that when he saw something he really liked. Usually, his world would just go by in slow-motion, and he'd lose awareness in everything else except for the coveted item in his line of sight.

He remembered lunging at the luxurious cashmere slowly dangling in front of his face, though.

"Gee, this sure is a really pretty scarf," said Misaki.

Narumi licked his lips hungrily. "It sure is."

"And if I were given a chance to own this beautiful, limited-edition 35% cashmere, 65% _other-stuff_ scarf for a possibly attainable price that does not involve payment or interest, I'd surely grab that opportunity the moment it's displayed right in front of my face," Misaki said, uncharacteristically smug. "Why? Do you own a beautiful, limited-edition 35% cashmere, 65% _other-stuff_ scarf that's almost practically free?

"I —"

"Exactly."

Narumi felt the longing burn in his chest. He recalled the days when he'd just stop and stare at the said scarf on its display at the shop window and how it caught the light just perfectly in all its silky elegance in the way it was draped and how he would check his wallet every time just to find it as empty as ever. So of course, for this no-pay treasure, he would do anything.

"I'm all yours Misaki-sensei, just name your price."

"You know how Hyuuga-kun's birthday is coming up?" Apparently Misaki still had no plans to put away the scarf and kept it hanging delicately from his fingers.

"…Yes?"

And so Misaki proceeded to tell him what he needed. It was highly impossible, not to mention very much strange.

Narumi swallowed and stared at the royal blue cashmere once again. It seemed to be challenging him.

**. . . **

"So why are we going out today again?" Koko asked.

"_Because_… It's Natsume-kun's birthday, that's why!" Narumi cheerily replied, patting the aforementioned boy's head, earning him a glare.

"Ooh but isn't this just so exciting?" Mikan said, clapping her hands happily. "I bet we're gonna have so much fun!"

Narumi winked at her. "You bet we are."

"So…if you're doing this as a _birthday present_ for Natsume-kun," Mochu said, making invisible quotations marks in the air as he said his emphasized words, "then are we all gonna go on free field trips to Central Town and the Western Woods when one of us is having their birthday, _sensei_?"

"Err —"

"Well I'd just like to tell you in advance that I'd prefer cash rather than a field trip, thanks," Hotaru said matter-of-factly.

"You know I never asked for this, Imai," Natsume muttered darkly. Hotaru shrugged and went back to tinkering with something in her newest handheld device.

"Well whatever, I'd want the coolest party thrown, like, ever!" one kid said.

"I wanna go hot air balloon-ing on my birthday!"

"Naru-sensei, Kitsu said he'd love to get a unic — _OW! The frick, man?"_

Narumi cleared his throat and turned on his pheromones. "Everybody settle down." The class toned down a bit, turning their attention to him with semi-blank looks on their faces just as their bus pulled over in front of them. "See, here's the bus. All aboard now!"

And soon all the pheromone-d kids, plus Mikan, obediently clambered on, absentminded faces still intact.

—

The kids' faces were priceless as soon as they saw the bags of candy on each seat. Narumi knew that the heavens were sending him good omens again with its too-bblue skies and chilly-cozy weather. Everyone was smiling and having a good time, with sweets all around. Later on he'd bust out the karaoke machine. This was definitely going to cost him a bit of money but undoubtedly the scarf was more expensive. His plan was perfect.

His triumphant smile, however, disappeared as soon as he saw their dear birthday boy, a scowl on his face as he looked out the window. He seemed to have abandoned his own share of sweets because now Mikan, who was sitting beside him because of their partner system, was already eating halfway through it.

Well how was he supposed to know Natsume didn't like sweets anyway.

—

Narumi gave his students about an hour to go look for a nice birthday for Natsume in Central Town. First one to give him a present that actually makes him smile wins, he had told them. So they set off — the girls eager to please their favorite boy in class and the boys bent on gaining favor from their most esteemed classmate.

Natsume stayed inside the bus as Narumi watched over the kids going around, coming in and out of shops, arms laden with bags full of early Christmas shopping and a birthday present stuffed somewhere in there. Soon enough, all of them started to walk back towards the bus, satisfied smiles plastered on their faces.

Too bad Natsume didn't have one on his own face by the time every single package was opened and comics, games, snacks and many more miscellaneous objects (like a pair of boxers) were strewn all over his and Mikan's bus seat, feet and laps. In fact, he didn't seem to be happy at all.

This was going to be harder than Narumi thought.

—

The sugar kicked in soon enough afterwards.

Narumi knew it when the kids started to sing and then laugh out loud for no apparent reason at all. Then they all divided themselves into two groups and abruptly began a contest to see which side of the bus could say hi to the most number of people. Individually, Mochu kept spouting a lot of cheesy pick-up lines to Wakako, Hotaru started to hiccup madly and Koko kept claiming to be seeing fuzzy blue lights everywhere.

"Oh my God guys, check it out! A horde of carolers!" a kid from the right side of the bus, also known as side B, exclaimed.

There was a lot of commotion mixed in with groans and muted curses from the kids of the other side.

"Hi glasses guy! Hi girl in the pink coat! Hi other girl in a beret! Hi little boy with the beanie!"

"Inchou _-hiccup-_, get me _-hiccup- _my _-hiccup- _gun. Now."

"Hey Wakako guess what?"

"No —"

"I wished I were the letter T, so I could be next to U."

"Oh my God hi! …That's 276, people! …Hey who stole my jellybeans?"

"They're coming for me! _The fuzzy blue lights are coming for me!_"

"Tell me Sumire, is your muffin buttered?"

_SMACK!_

In the midst of all the chaos in the bus, Ruka cleared his throat and looked at Narumi, concerned. "Sensei…" His tone was steady, but at the same time marred with worry. "As much as the pounds of candy and sweets were a good treat and this bus ride is…" — he seemed to struggle for a word — "…_nice_, and all, don't you think this has just been a bit out of timing? And aren't we all a little too old to get sugar-buzzed like this? Is there — is there, maybe, something wrong?"

"_Sweet baby Jesus they want to take me to their leader!" _

Narumi smiled sweetly at his student. There was nothing wrong, whatsoever, as far as he knew. Besides, that sweet little girl told her the cupcakes were swell and that they were extra special because of an extra special secret ingredient. He even had one personally before heading off to class and felt so happy and light immediately afterwards — the happiest and lightest he's been for years, even.

"Oh Ruka-kun," he sang, "no worries, no worries."

Outside, Central Town was already disappearing, the crowds of students fast thinning just as the view was quickly beginning to sprout traces of red, gold and even the occasional green foliage.

"_Oh! _The fuzzy blue lights have merged with the fluffy yellow fireballs!"

Just as long as Narumi was around, nothing could possibly go wrong.

"_Oh my gosh! _It's a big green monster! Oh my Lord, it's their lea —"

_BAKA!_

And the last thing Narumi saw was the ground jumping up at him to smack his face.

**. . .**

"So why are we only lifting him up now?"

"Because the cold floor's keeping him from waking up, I think."

Narumi came around to the padded sound of shuffling feet and urgent whispers just up above. When he opened his eyes, he saw a fourth of his students bent over him, some anxious, some pretty amused.

"_Sensei!"_

"No need to worry, guys, he's alive," Tobita announced to his seated classmates. Narumi didn't really hear any significant response of relief or whatnot.

"Good! Does he have any more Mars bars on him?"

He struggled to sit up, and as he did, Narumi felt a mild ache throb at the side of his head. "What happened?"

"Well…" Sumire began, staring at Hotaru to her left with a reproachful look.

"Idiots," Narumi heard the accused mutter under her breath.

"Yeah, tell him what really happened, Imai," said Ruka.

"Haven't I told already you all a million times?" Hotaru looked more irritated than resentful. "It was those two's fault." And she pointed an accusing finger at Mochu and Koko, who were both busy watching something flutter outside the window with dazed expressions on their faces.

"Wh-what… how — why?"

"If Imai hadn't be—"

"Dolts," Hotaru breathed. "These fifth edition guns have an automized accuracy feature, how many times do I have to tell you that?"

But her classmates only continued to gape at her blankly, a tell tale sign that they didn't get where she was going. Narumi didn't either, anyway.

"Which means," Hotaru continued, her hands at her temples and expression depicting extreme annoyance, "Koko read my mind and warned Mochu who in turn made the canon swerve off direction."

Now the students, along with Narumi, all made an exaggerated '_oh!' _sound indicating they all finally understood.

"And not only did they somehow knock you unconscious but they also managed to get the bus driver out cold."

Narumi raised an eyebrow at Hotaru who returned it with a bleak look. "Yeah, that really wasn't my fault."

Looking at the two boys under so much accusation, he saw that despite the menacing glares shot at them by almost everyone else in the bus, they were still distracted by the white flecks of snow that drifted outside.

_Snow._

Well, that certainly explained why it got a lot chillier since he woke up — and why the sky was too crystal clear blue awhile ago and why his students were all huddled up now against their seats, shivering.

"How long was I out, kids?"

"About two hours."

Narumi felt his knees buckle from under him. He grabbed on to a nearby seat to steady himself. "And Mr. Akito?"

"Just now."

He ran his hand down the side of his face. "And why have you only managed to wake me up now?"

The students looked nervously amongst themselves. Finally, it was Iinchou who spoke up, a trace of shame in his voice. "We didn't really…realize you were out cold until after Mr. Akito got bonked —"

"_Bonked?"_

"—on the back of his head with Koko's metal canteen and had his foot pressed down on the accelerator causing us to speed through the forest without any means of stopping until I guess the gas ran out and there you were, not actually taking a nap," Iinchou said really quickly, out of breath. This earned him a pat from his nearby classmates.

_Trouble should not stop you from doing a dance, so lighten the mood not with anger or annoyance, but with a joke well said and maybe a little prance, _as the guidance counselor would always tell him during his earlier years.

But as he gazed around the bus at his students, the happy, sugar high-induced feel had left them and was replaced instead of a cold atmosphere of combined anger and uneasiness. Hoping to ease the tension, he asked, "Anyone else here know how to drive?"

Nobody laughed nor responded.

"Hana-chan, can you perhaps tele —"

"She's just passed out sir."

"Then what about Kyou — "

Wretching noises coming from somewhere at the back filled the bus. It didn't sound too pleasant but secretly Narumi was relieved that what needed to be wretched was wretched outside and not _inside_.

"Yeah he just threw up…and passed out. Sorry, _sensei_."

He stood up and faced his students. In the calmest tone he could muster, he said, "Ok, nobody panic."

But how could one _not_ panic when your bus was dead stuck in the middle of the forest, the sky was already quickly getting dark and the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate towards freezing point?

In the spur of the moment, Sumire got up and heaved Mr. Akito, theirunconscious bus driver, with one big and strong push of her arms. Several hollered and shrieked at her panickedly when he hit the floor with a disturbingly heavy and unnatural thud.

Narumi had a sinking feeling he wouldn't be waking up any moment soon.

Meanwhile, Sumire started to man the driver's seat, apparently uncaring about her classmates' sudden horrified reactions. Jamming her foot angrily into the accelerator, her hands clamped on to the steering wheel very tight the knuckles were turning paler than they already were. But to no avail, the bus only shook despite Sumire's attempts.

"No gas," she grumbled. Slumping back on the chair, she crossed her arms and looked back at all of them. "Well now that this bus has finally been deemed undrivable by the only person conscious who _can_ actually drive in this bus," she said, "any more bright ideas?"

Mikan's hand shot up in the air. "_Ooh! _I know, I know!"

"Hyuuga," Hotaru called, "could you check if the idiot's heart rate is normal? She still might be on a high."

A pause.

"_You get your hands off me, pervert!" _

Narumi only heard some heated bickering and Mikan counting from one to ten before she spoke again. "We should just take the bus, and push it back to town!" Then she grinned and looked around, pleased of herself.

"Amazing plan," said Natsume all of a sudden, clapping his hands at his partner.

Mikan looked flattered. "Why thank y — _Hey, you're making fun of me again aren't you?"_

Propping his elbow on the sill, he rested his chin on his hand and regarded Mikan with a wryly affectionate sort of look on his face. "You know there really isn't any arguing with that logic."

Too flustered to say anything back anymore, Mikan sat down furiously, her back to Natsume.

"Check the trunk if there's any back-up gas or something," somebody suggested.

"_Uhm_, well actually," Nonoko squeaked, "they're isn't any. I… I kinda stole them for this new tonic I'm trying out and… _I'M SORRY! _I never actually thought we'd really need it, anyway." Her face was very red now, and she trembled as some of her not-as-close classmates chastised her harshly and threw empty sweets wrappers and boxes at her.

Anna was quick to act as she pulled best friend back down to a sitting position, brushing away bits of wrapping and candy crumbs from her face, shoulders and hair. She looked out the window. A second later, she announced, "One of the tires is frozen stuck in a puddle!" Then she added, "Which means gas or no gas we still won't be able to get out of here, anyway." She stuck out her tongue to her classmates and just narrowly missed a small tin of breath mints flying towards her head as she sat back down to comfort Nonoko.

"Now, now kids, there's no need to result to throwing trash at your classmate," Narumi reproved his students. "Right now, all we've got to do is keep calm and carry on waiting, no?"

"No!"

Narumi shot his student a gently reprimanding look.

"So are we all gonna be stuck here for a while?" Mikan whimpered, close to tears.

"It's going to be alright —"

"I suggest we send somebody out to get help," Sumire muttered darkly from her seat in front, "like Mochu. Or Koko. Or Mochu and Koko."

Hotaru smirked. "Now that's a great —"

"No they're asleep," Narumi snapped. "But if it means so much, then I'd go —"

Some of his students reacted just as fast as he stopped himself at that. Then Mikan stumbled into the aisle toward him, her expression desperate and pleading. "No. Don't…don't go, Narumi-_sensei_."

Ruka stood up from his seat and gazed at him, serious. "Mikan's right, _sensei_. You can't just leave us here right now. …We need you. And — I can help."

"Me too," Natsume, quiet just a moment ago, was standing up now too, staring intently at him now as well.

"Boys…" Narumi started.

Ruka took a while to speak, looking back and forth from Natsume to him, until finally, he said, "I — We won't be long." He spared a resolute smile at his best friend from across the aisle. "Just gone long enough to get a little help from my friends."

Knowing his students too well by heart, Narumi immediately knew what he meant by that. As the two boys were walking down the aisle, Mikan turned her eyes from him to them.

"Y-you're really g-going out?"

"It's going to be alright. We'll be just a minute," Ruka told her, offering a reassuring smile. "Right, Natsume?"

Narumi saw his gaze flit to Mikan's for a second. "…Right."

Mikan withdrew a shaky breath, seemingly holding herself back from something for some reason. After a few bated moments, she unraveled her scarf from her neck. Looking hesitant, she instead thrust it into one each of Ruka's and Natsume's hands. "Be safe."

With a thank you and two nods, the two of them left, Mikan plus everybody else in the bus watching anxiously after them.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" asked Anna, peering out the window through the sudden blaze of snow at their retreating figures.

"Nogi will be fine, with his 'friends' around and all," said Hotaru, sincere without the slightest hint of mock in her tone. "Hyuuga too."

Kitsuneme finished the statement for her. "It is his birthday, after all."

—

Natsume and Ruka didn't take a minute to come back for obvious reasons. But nightfall came and the two boys still weren't back, making not only Narumi worried sick to the core but everyone else hanging on tensely as well.

An hour and a half since they left, the gnawing dread began to take its toll, causing just anybody to mechanically turn to their windows at the slightest rustling in the surrounding forest, hopeful for the boys' return. But out of all his students still on the bus, it was Mikan Narumi was most worried about too.

Mikan, who had taken to keeping her eyes trained unblinkingly and earnestly on the windows across the bus, sat troublingly silent on Natsume's unoccupied seat. Halfway through, Kitsuneme came to sit with her as Ruka also left him alone in their seat, patting her knee in the most comforting way he could whenever he can.

Time slowly dragged by some more, and after what Narumi could've sworn were countless hours but just roughly forty minutes, he finally made out two dark figures treading through the mild fury of the newly-formed blizzard outside.

And as they stumbled in, really flushed and weak-looking and drenched in frost, and everybody cheered in extreme happiness and relief, Narumi felt like the most selfish teacher ever.

—

Save for the soft snores that filled the entire bus, everything was silent inside just as things were outside of it. The first snowstorm of the first snowfall of the year stopped just shortly after Natsume and Ruka's celebrated return, and soon enough after that it was only a matter of time before everybody was fast asleep, all huddled together on their seats under thin blankets Sumire found in the glove compartment moments ago.

All, but one Hyuuga Natsume, that is, as Narumi suddenly realized.

Natsume was wide awake, his eyes watching the gentle drift of snowflakes outside the window in idle fascination. He wasn't sitting under the blanket because now it looked like he had chosen to drape it all over the girl dozing contentedly beside him. Mikan's head was on his shoulder and his right arm rested on her shoulder.

He looked the calmest Narumi had ever seen him — as if right here and right now, he was, for the first time, at peace with everything else, and among others, himself. And then Narumi saw it as it graced his features: the smallest and rarest of smiles — so radiant and kind that as he surreptitiously took the picture he needed of it and started making his way to him, he simply felt the warmth of it on him.

Mikan called it his constipated face. Narumi now regarded it as one of the joys of being a teacher.

"Hi there, Natsume-kun."

Natsume's smile quickly disappeared as he turned to face Narumi vacantly. He rolled his eyes at him before returning his attention to the snow outside.

"How're you feeling?" Natsume didn't reply. "Not too cold, I hope."

At this Natsume spared a glance at Mikan asleep beside him and gave a slight shrug with his free shoulder.

"Sorry about all this, though by the way," Narumi amended. In his head, he recounted the length of the entire day — from the initial greed that got him to this, his mistake of getting his students all hopped up on unhealthy sugar, getting knocked out, getting stuck here and failing, mostly. Never before has he felt so guilty.

"And I guess you were right," he continued. "All of this was —"

"What are you getting at, anyway?" said Natsume suddenly, facing Narumi with the most apathetic expression. "What do you want me to say? _'Whoopdee-fucking-doo, thanks for the best birthday ever'_?"

Narumi winced, not at the apparent swearing, no — God forbid he's been through that phase — but at the sting of sarcasm he should've seen coming.

He cleared his throat. "It's my fault, I know."

"Did I even say anything about wholly blaming you?"

He stopped, stunned for a second. "Natsume-kun?"

Natsume turned away from Narumi. He looked sort of transfixed again, as his eyes followed the flitting snow from the other side of the window. Then he said, "I've had worse birthdays."

"I —"

"It's a start."

He guess that did it for him. Narumi rose, and as he walked away to leave Natsume be, from the corner of his eye he saw Natsume reach up to stroke Mikan's hair, _that_ sort of smile on his face again.

—

Help came in what first seemed to be a parade of forest animals, and _then_ a couple of teachers riding two snow cars.

The whole time while waiting for them, Narumi kept awake. He didn't dare sleep with the knowledge of being potential to letting his students down again, so when they finally came, a flood of utmost relief and triumph washed over him — especially when he saw that Misaki-sensei was among those who came to rescue them.

He hopped off the bus to join the others outsider right away, beam plastered itself to his face. He approached them, and as he did they all greeted him with cries of disbelief and admonishment, not to mention respite over the fact that he, along with all his students, were safe and alright — just as a big family of siblings would've been happy to hear that their youngest brother and the toys he played with were still ok.

"Here, you deserve this."

A scarf was already wrapped around his neck before he could open his mouth to object. The 35% cashmere, 65% _other-stuff _silk felt really, _really_ good on his skin.

Words seemed to be caught in his elegantly-clad throat, until finally he made out, "I — Th-thank you so much, Misaki-sensei. But…I don't —"

"But you do, Narumi. You definitely do."

"But —"

"I '_probably don't know what you're thinking_'?" Misaki raised a challenging eyebrow at him, almost to say, _What else have you got _to _say?_

"That I'm —"

"A selfish prick who apparently does everything he can to get what he wants, regardless of the people around him that might be affected?"

"Yes, actually —"

"It's ok," Misaki said. He placed a hand on Narumi's shoulder. "It's not you, it's me."

Initially, Narumi's immediate response would've been _'are you breaking up with me?' _but realizing what Misaki just meant, he said instead, "I don't think that's true."

Misaki shook his head. "You know as well as I do that you wouldn't have been stuck in here with your students if it weren't for me."

Narumi looked at him pointedly. "If it weren't for _me_ going too hungrily for this scarf" —he gestured to the fabric wound around his neck— "then I wouldn't have been stuck in here with my students, then yes."

"No, keep it." Misaki's voice was firm. "If you want both of us to be of blame here, then so be it."

Narumi was a bit defiant about sharing the blame that was supposedly _his_, but nonetheless they both smiled at the irony of it all. "Fine then."

"…About _the_ picture though…"

Beaming wider, Narumi said, "For whatever purpose you might need it, I have not failed you" —Narumi proudly patted the pocket he kept his camera in— "Nothing to worry about, my friend."

"See, that's exactly what I'm worried about."

* * *

**Newly-turned 15-year-old Hyuuga Natsume smiles for his birthday**

_**Written by: Anonymous**_

_**Photo courtesy: Misaki-sensei and Narumi-sensei**_

_Warming the frosty air and the hearts of hundreds of (female) students is Hyuuga Natsume, recently now at smashing fifteen as of yesterday, November 27._

_Following the aftermath of an accident on the very bus they were riding on, here Natsume smiles a genuinely happy smile despite being stranded in the middle of the Western Woods for no less than seven hours. _

"_It's a start," Natsume says quite optimistically, according to his homeroom teacher Narumi-sensei. _

_As in fact it definitely is a wonderful start — hopeful enough to melt the icicles out the windows of Gakuen Alice _

_students everywhere — to yet another bitter winter season … (read more on p. 9)

* * *

_

There's always that time of the year.

When despite the bloodthirsty fangirls, one of the sane enough girls in your class bonks you in the head and pretends like nothing happened just because she hates your guts and she's just trying to show her appreciation for you in her own way because it's _that _day and she knows you'd let her off the hook for that. When even though your locker would get filled with countless amounts of heart-shaped mail, there would always be that one card from your one favorite _kouhai, _ten papercuts later, wedged inside your Algebra notebook. And when the fact that since this was the day your mother chucked you out of her… _her_, it gives you the chance to be off on some bus ride with people you actually appreciate instead on being on some mission risky enough to make you consider if this may be the last birthday you'd ever celebrate.

Well, there's also the strong urge you get to commit arson and manslaughter the moment you find out your homeroom teacher sold your picture to your Algebra teacher who in turn sold it to the school paper — the _female_ side of the paper, that is.

And that was it for my birthday.

* * *

And as I'm sitting here, I'm actually saying to myself, "Good God I can't believe I'm actually publishing this."

Which I am anyway, if you managed to get to this point without giving up, thinking, "Good God I can't believe she published this," then ok good for you.

Well you're prolly thinking, "Good God I can't believe she published this and wasted my time," anyway so~

_Review? :D_


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